If there’s nothing easier for a politician – especially elected mayors – than picking on an easy, or ideological target, then it’s dramatic visions of a future world in which they won’t be playing a part.
Often underlying these grand promises is the need to draw fire away from current political woes.
Therefore, it’s good news that London Mayor Sadiq Khan is to allocate £6m to provide toilets for bus drivers on 40 routes, building on existing measures with local cafes and shop to allow drivers to use their toilets.
Contrast this with Bristol where elected Mayor Marvin Rees presides over a city that has just decided to close all its on-street public toilets. This is seriously bad news, for the public and bus drivers alike. Just seven businesses have signed up to the council’s ‘Community Toilet Scheme’.
Meanwhile, Mayor Rees has unveiled grandiose plans for a £4bn three-line light rail network, with up to 75% of the system underground.
After countless failed transport plans, including 2001’s Bristol Supertram, and a Metrobus system consisting of a few bridges and new bus lanes which has taken almost a decade to build and is yet to open, it is not surprising that Bristolians aren’t exactly pencilling the network’s opening date into their diaries.
Over in Leicester, this week Mayor Sir Peter Soulsby used the local newspaper to outline why the council should re-nationalise the city’s buses. It comes after last week The Daily Mail shamed him into an embarrassing u-turn over the issue of a parking ticket. It’s time for our politicians to be brave, as well as bold.
